Housing fight heats up as budget deadline nears

Jun 26, 2023

Beat Memo

With less than a week left before the July 1 budget deadline, housing issues remain a major point of contention between both sides of City Hall.

Mayor Eric Adams on Friday vetoed a package of legislation approved by the City Council last month that would reform how the city administers rental vouchers — a move the body is prepared to override, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said last week.

But the fight over housing goes beyond vouchers. The Council has pushed the administration to significantly expand capital spending on affordable housing in the upcoming budget, fix staffing shortages that have delayed projects and housing placements, and put more city resources into right to counsel, which is supposed to guarantee free lawyers to low-income tenants at risk of eviction, but faces a shortage of attorneys.

Council members gathered Friday on the heels of the mayor’s veto with strong words for his handling of the issue.

“You cannot say that there’s a housing crisis, that it is the number one issue of importance to New Yorkers and then turn around and do nothing,” Council Member Pierina Sanchez, chair of the housing committee, said at the press conference. “This budget is a moral document, this legislation that we are trying to pass is for our people and we will not relent.”

“We have got to work together on this issue, and to be honest with you, you’re so upset you don’t know how to work with us,” said Council Member Gale Brewer.

Mayor Adams said Friday the Council legislation could “saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars in costs each year” — and he has emphasized that the city’s financial situation is already strained due to the migrant crisis.

He suggested the Council’s focus is misplaced: “Instead of tackling decades of exclusionary zoning policies that have prevented our city from building an adequate housing supply — which has left nearly 20,000 current voucher holders unable to find housing — these bills would remove the city’s ability to target limited resources for those most in need.”

“Going forward, it is our sincere hope that the City Council will work with us to advance practical and fiscally responsible efforts to support New Yorkers in danger of homelessness, including an aggressive, citywide effort to build more housing in every neighborhood.”

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Driving the Week

ADAMS VETOES VOUCHER LEGISLATION — POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha: Mayor Eric Adams on Friday vetoed a package of City Council bills to reform the administration of rental vouchers — just after Speaker Adrienne Adams said the body would override the move. The mayor said in a statement the Council bills “would take us backwards, by leading to longer shelter stays for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, while simultaneously creating a structure that could saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars in costs each year.” Speaker Adams shot back, saying in a statement the Council is prepared to override the veto “to truly confront the rapidly deteriorating eviction and homelessness crises made worse by this Administration’s budget cuts and failure to enact solutions.”

The Council package — approved with a veto-proof majority last month — eliminated a longstanding rule that people be in homeless shelters for 90 days before they can qualify for a rental voucher, while also expanding eligibility for the program, known as CityFHEPS.

COUNCIL SEEKS TO SHIFT BROKER FEES TO LANDLORDS — The Real Deal’s Harrison Connery: “New York City Council Member Chi Ossé unveiled his boker-fee reform bill Thursday, dubbed the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act, which would shift the burden of payment to whichever party hires the broker. This would change the way most rental units are paid for, as tenants in New York now pay the broker, even though they work for the landlord….

“While the legislation may seem like a no-brainer to renters, the bill has sparked outcry from the real estate industry, as did similar efforts four years ago. A REBNY representative said that by Thursday morning more than 1,000 members had followed through on a call to action the organization emailed its 12,000 residential brokers on Tuesday.”

CASINOS POSE HEAVY LAND USE LIFT — POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha: Mayor Eric Adams has laid out ambitious plans to address the city’s severe housing shortage — pushing for denser development in some parts of the Big Apple and expediting the lengthy approval process for new buildings. But a slew of real estate developers and gaming giants with big ticket plans to build the world’s next great casino in New York City are threatening to suck up the oxygen in the administration’s already short-staffed planning department.

The Department of City Planning, the agency charged with evaluating land use changes for development projects, could be deluged with casino applications unless the Adams administration and City Council can figure out a simpler path to complying with state rules governing the siting of gaming facilities.

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Odds and Ends

RENT BOARD APPROVED 3 PERCENT INCREASE — POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha: The mayor-appointed panel that determines increases for the city’s roughly 1 million rent-regulated apartments voted Wednesday to hike rents by 3 percent on one-year leases. The Rent Guidelines Board — in a 5-4 vote, its second under Mayor Eric Adams — also permitted rent increases on two-year leases, allowing a 2.75 increase in the first year and a 3.2 percent increase in the second year.

PATH TO HOUSING LONGER THAN EVER — Gothamist’s David Brand: “New York City’s homeless shelter population is swelling, but one method for moving people into permanent housing is taking longer than ever to complete. The median timeline for shelter residents moving into city-financed apartments reserved for them has nearly doubled since 2020, according to city data.

“Last year, it took about seven months for someone to move into those apartments after the approval process, the annual mayor’s management report shows. But in the 2020 fiscal year, it took less than four months. That timeline is considered to be a ‘critical indicator’ of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s performance.”

OFFICE OCCUPANCY REACHES 50% — New York Post’s Nolan Hicks: “The glass is half empty or half full, depending on who you talk to. The number of office key cards used in the Big Apple crossed the 50 percent threshold last week for the first time since the coronavirus struck more than three years ago, after weeks of it being stuck in the 40s, data collected by an office security firm shows.”

A PAUSE ON FORECLOSURES? — NY1’s Nick Reisman: “A one-year moratorium for foreclosures due to unpaid taxes could be put in place in New York due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. New York lawmakers this week gave final legislative approval to a measure that would pause most ‘in rem’ foreclosures in the state until June 30, 2024. It now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for her consideration.”

Quick Hits

— City Comptroller Brad Lander says he “got it wrong” on Hudson Yards.

— Long Island City is getting a massive new industrial project.

— Rapid grocery delivery hubs would stay put under an Adams administration zoning plan to boost business growth.

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